Successful teams don’t happen by accident. They take intentional culture and work. Teamwork is usually defined as a group of individuals working together toward the same goal. Teamwork can bring about greater results and higher success.
I’ve looked at some of the greatest and most impactful teams in history and pulled important lessons from each of them. Each of these teams actually demonstrates nearly all of these lessons.
1. Successful Collaboration Amidst Conflict
Every team faces conflict and disagreement. Even in marriage, the most common and smallest sized team of 2 faces untold conflict. But, when a team can overcome conflict, amazing things happen.
We learn a lot about conflict from the Wright Brothers. Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the airplane. They managed to do it without a high school diploma, beating out hundreds of higher educated and more prestigious scientists.
They succeeded when well-funded scientists failed, such as Samuel Langley, whose War Department Funded plane dived into the Potomac River weeks before the Wright Brothers took flight.
But, the Wright Brothers were not without conflict. The book The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough, highlights the heated conflict they often had. Often their arguments were so heated that they would “shout something terrible” (p. 7).
But, the Wright Brothers knew how to resolve conflict. Indeed, they were strongly opinionated but firmly respected each other. They didn’t degrade the other’s opinions for being different. McCullough reported this about their arguments;
“During these months their “discussions” became as intense as they had ever been. Heated words flew, filling hours of their days and nights, often at the top of their voices…According to Charlie Taylor (Their Mechanic), they were never really mad at each other. One morning after one of their “hottest” exchanges, he had only just opened the shop…when Orville came in saying he “guessed he’d been wrong and they ought to do it Will’s way.” Shortly after, Wilbur arrived to announce he’d been thinking it over and “perhaps Orv was right.” (P. 89)
Henry Ford said it best; “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get to know the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from my own viewpoint.”
Despite extreme opinions, the Wright Brothers respected each other enough to weigh heavily the opinion of the other. They were able to collaborate and not take offense at disagreement or differences. This ability to collaborate changed the world.
2. Team Unity In Success
Another lesson in the building blocks required to build a successful team is also demonstrated by the Wright Brothers. In success and failure, they were united. They did not blame the other when they experienced failures.
But, neither did either seek credit or fame for themselves. Now, over 200 years after the Wright Brothers changed history, they are still referred to as the Wright Brothers. Wilbur and Orville didn’t seek nor try to take individual credit for their success.
One never overshadowed the other. They shared credit every time, without exception. They also shared credit with their sister Katharyn and to their mechanic, Charlie Taylor, who helped them build their first engine.
Successful teams require that the egos of the individuals be subordinate to the success of the team. When individual team members hog or steal the glory of a team’s success, the team suffers. Likewise, individual motives, goals, and credit should be discussed, but ultimately compromised when needed in view of the team goals and needs.
(Side note: individual credit is essential, but best done within the context of team, or peer recognition)
3. Discussion Overcomes Obstacles
Albert Einstein is credited with coming up with numerous scientific theories that have revolutionized the way we view the world and impacted our understanding of gravity, light, and space travel. But, he didn’t act alone.
Einstein reformed, perfected, and improved his theories through discussion, debate, and brainstorming. Although he didn’t call it brainstorming, he bounced ideas off of colleagues, friends, and fellow scientists.
The number of obstacles that Einstein faced caused him to give up by 1914. He concluded that a partial solution to his queries was all that was possible. But, in 1915, he published 4 papers and heavy discussions helped to push Einstein past those insurmountable hurdles.
Modern studies back up the value of team discussions in overcoming obstacles. Teams are more creative in solving problems and innovating new solutions. In fact, smaller teams are often found to be more creative than larger teams. Jeff Bezos implements a 2 pizza rule for teams at Amazon. Teams must be kept small enough for 2 pizzas to feed.
4. Team Feedback is Essential to Success
Henry Ford is credited with revolutionizing the auto industry by making cars available to the common man. But, many people don’t realize that Ford struggled to accomplish his dream of providing automobiles to the masses.
In 1913, his employees spoke loud and clear. Turnover was 52,000 to cover 14,000 employees. Talented employees left by the droves. The high turnover threatened to undo his company.
But, Henry Ford listened to his team. He took the feedback and revolutionized the way he dealt with his workforce.
He instituted the $5 workday with an hour less of work a day. This was unheard of and doubled the wages of many of his workers. At the time, it was unheard of. Additionally, he provided and often required, English classes. But, it drastically reduced his turnover. And it created a set of skilled workers.
Sometimes team feedback means making drastic changes and revolutionizing the way business is done. But, without it teams stagnate and may face failure.
5. A Sense of Purpose is Essential
In 1961, President John F Kennedy sought out a janitor while visiting NASA. He left his entourage and said; “I’m Jack Kennedy. What are you doing here?” The janitor responded; “Well Mr. President, I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
This incident was first relayed in the 1960s and has only grown in popularity since. It demonstrates two powerful lessons. First, it reflects the singular drive and mission of NASA at the time.
Second, it demonstrates that every single person employed at NASA had a sense of that purpose. This janitor understood that his efforts to keep NASA clean made it possible for scientists and engineers to focus without distraction.
The team’s purpose is essential. But, team members don’t always understand how their part plays into the success of the team. By aligning team goals and purposes to the greater purpose of the organization, members feel a greater sense of pride and accomplishment. For more information on goals, check out 3 Actions to Inspire Employees and Foster Motivation.
6. Keep Ego In Check
Teams perform best when individual members are not competing for the credit of each accomplishment. Pierre and Marie Currie understood this. At a time when women were never recognized in academia, Marie Curie broke through limitation after limitation.
She studied and identified key principles related to radiation. The Currie team was formed when Pierre gave up his research to join Marie in hers. Together, they changed the world of medicine through their work on radioactivity and X-rays. Their accomplishments and discoveries are too numerous for the scope of this article.
The Curries did not seek individual recognition of their accomplishments. When Pierre was nominated for a Nobel Prize, he wrote that the failure to recognize Marie would be a travesty. So, Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. And, when she received her second one years after Pierre’s death, she stated that the prize was a tribute to Pierre.
Pierre expressed that he cared more about scientific exploration than recognition for it when he said; “I do not feel the slightest need of being decorated, but I am in the greatest need of a laboratory.” Pierre and Marie were encouraged to patent their work on radium, but they refused.
They felt that research should not be mixed up with individual profit, motive, or recognition. They shared freely with other scientists which allowed the technology to grow and be used faster.
If the Curries had been possessive of their research or obsessed with taking credit for each advancement, the collaboration needed to produce the x-ray. In fact, most people don’t know that Marie Curie first curated the idea of using radiation in cancer treatments, something that has saved many lives.
Failure to check egos can ensure the failure of the team. This is demonstrated with the LA Lakers, who won 3 straight NBA championships, but failed to secure another one with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were teamed together. They simply could not leave their egos at the door for the sake of the team.
A team that can check individual egos at the door will progress faster and see greater success than teams
7. Rapid Communication Is Key
Teams need consistent, rapid, and clear communication. Often, they need the ability to communicate without oversight and control by management. This is most clearly demonstrated by Wikipedia.
Before Wikipedia there was Briticanna. Briticanna was the number one encyclopedia in the world decade after decade. They were the authority on everything.
But, within a few years, Wikipedia took over the space to become the number one online encyclopedia. They are driven primarily by volunteers and not professors. Wikipedia lacks a formal approval process for articles, but allows for autonomy of contributors. Communication is rapid.
Anyone can submit an article or correct a mistake. Instead of a formal review process for publishing articles, communication is rapid, immediate and not held up by bureaucracy. Wikipedia also provides a lesson as well on the power of intrinsic motivation, a clear vision, and altruism. Check out Ideas in the Thanks platform to see how teams can collaborate on ideas across distance and time zones
8. Team Member Autonomy
NASA, especially during the nail-biting times of Apollo 11 and 13 demonstrated the importance of allowing individual autonomy. NASA regularly gave assignments to engineers who didn’t know how to do something and left it up to them to figure out and implement.
“Another thing that was extraordinary was how things were delegated down. NASA responsibilities were delegated to people who didn’t know how to do these things and were expected to go find out how to do it;” explained Bill Tindall, former NASA Mission Technique Coordinator.
Allowing autonomy is especially important in any creative or innovative endeavor and going to the moon for the first time is all of those things. But, along with autonomy, successful teams have to be able to learn from failure instead of dwelling on it or punishing it.
9. Learn From Failure
NASA knew that creativity and problem solving required a new approach to failure. They strove to publish and share each failure so the entire team could learn from it. Christopher C. Kraft Jr. the former NASA Director of Flight Operations said; “When we had a fire, we took a step back and said okay, what lessons have we learned from this horrible tragedy? Now let’s be doubly sure that we are going to do it right the next time. I think that fact right there is what allowed us to get Apollo done in the ‘60s.” NASA also demonstrated that failure to learn from mistakes can create catastrophic and expensive problems. After the Apollo leadership that cultivated a culture of sharing and learning from mistakes, the Mars mission leadership stopped focusing on learning from failure. As a result, a series of Mars spacecraft failed. First the Mars Climate Orbiter failed, two months later, the Mars Polar Lander failed. Henry McDonald, a former Director of NASA California explained; “The mentality became, “We flew it, we had a problem, we landed, so what’s the big deal? So there was a crack in the wing panel, but hey, we got away with it; when’s the next mission?” Failure happens to every team. It can be ignored or hidden. It can be punished. Or, it can be learned from. Learning from failure takes teams to the next level. Employee Engagement Isn’t Just About Recognition: Traversing FailureConclusion
Every great team needs to celebrate and recognize successes. Be sure to schedule a demo to find out how Thanks provides the tools to recognize individuals and teams!About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.